Waste disposer installation

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed a food waste disposer suspended beneath a sink. Providing communication between the sink and the disposer housing is an annular resilient member. A support element independent of the resilient member extends between the sink opening and the disposer housing for substantially wholly bearing the weight of the housing.

waited States Patent i191 Guth [54] WASTE DISPOSER INSTALLATION [75] inventor: Lauren W. Guth, Louisville` Ky.

[73] Assignee: General Electric Company,

Louisville, Ky.

[22] Filed: Sept. 6, 1973 [2l] Appl. No.: 394,928

[52] U.S. Cl 241/100.5, 241/46 A,.24l/257 G [5l] lnt. Cl. B02c 18/42 [58] Field of Search 241/32, 5, 46 R, 46 A,

241/46 B, 100.5, 257 G, 285 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,772,836 l2/l956 Gebhart ..24l/l()0.5X

l45l jan. 28, 1975 Primary I;`.\'an1incr-Granville Y. Custer. Jr. Assis-mn! l;`.\'aminer-E. F. Desmond [57] ABSTRACT There is disclosed a food waste disposer suspended beneath a sink. Providing communication between the sink and the disposer housing is an annular resilient member. A support element independent of the resilient member extends between the sink opening and the disposer housing for substantially wholly bearing -the weight ofthe housing.

7 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures 1 WASTE DISPOSER INSTALLATION Food waste disposers are, of course, widely available. One of the disadvantages of many commercially available food waste disposers is that operation thereof is noticeably noisy. The observation of disposer operation reveals that the noise level increases when the disposer is loaded. It is thus apparent that the noise generated by disposer operation is due to both rotation of the comminutor and motor shaft as well as the grinding operation.

The prior art has taken steps to minimize noise generation durng disposer operation. Typically, the approach has been to provide a sound deadening member between the sink opening and the disposer housing. The sound deadening member is typically made of an elastomeric material such as rubber or the like. Since elastomers do not efficiently transmit vibrations in the audible range, these approaches have achieved a reduced level of noise generation during disposer operation. Typical disclosures of this type are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,709,046; 2,743,875; 2,785,864; 2,851,224; 2,945,635; 2,949,246; 2,951,650; 2,965,318 and 3,044,715. Other disclosures of more general interest are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,947,941; 2,160,040;

2,418,366 and 2,442,812.

The disclosure in U.S. Pat. No. 2,945,635 is typical of the more relevant group of references listed above. ln this arrangement, the resilient annular member provides communication between the sink opening and the disposer housing and acts as an inefficient transmitter of vibration in the audible range. ln this device, the resilient annular member is placed in tension since'it wholly supports the weight of the disposer housing and comminutor. Although devices of this type have satisfactorily reduced the noise levels, they provide two disadvantages which are obviated by the practiceof this invention. The first disadvantage is that the resilient annular member appears to undergo accelerated deterioration since it supports the weight of the housing. The second disadvantage is that the housing is not conveniently rotatably adjustable during installation in order to position the outlets in a desired direction.

lt is an object of this invention to provide an improved food waste disposer and installation thereof which provides considerable noise attenuation, improved longevity of the annular resilient member and the capability of ready adjustment of the disposer housing during installation.

ln summary, the device of this invention comprises a waste disposer for a sink having an opening therethrough including a disposer housing having means therein for comminuting waste material; a resilient annular member for providing communication between the opening and housing; and means for suspending the housing from the sink including means for securing the upper and lower ends of the member to the sink and the housing respectively, and a support element independent of the member extending between the upper and lower securing means for substantially wholly bearing the weight of the housing.

IN THE DRAWING FlG. l is a partial, broken elevational view of a food waste disposer incorporating the principles of this invention; and

FIG. 2 is a partial elevational view, similar to FIG. l, illustrating the support element in an unstressed condition.

Referring to FlG. l, there is illustrated a disposer installataion l0 including a sink l2 having a depending conduit 14 providing a drain opening 16. Positioned below the opening 16 is a food'waste disposer 18 including a disposer housing 20 and means 22 in the housing 20 for comminuting waste material. The disposer housing 20 may be of any suitable type and is illustrated as comprising upper and lower metallic housing sections 24, 26 joined together by an annular clamping ring 28. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the lower housing section 26 incorporates a suitable motor (not shown) for rotating a motor shaft 30 and thereby rotating a grinding member 32 against a grinding ring (not shown) on the inside of the upper housing 24 for comminuting waste material. The lower housing 26 also includes an output port 34 for discharging a slurry of water and waste material to a drain.

The disposerinstallation l0 also includes an annular elongate resilient member 36 providing communication between the drain opening 16 and the upper housing section 24. The resilient member 36 is conveniently made of an elastomeric material having sound deadening qualities. The member 36 accordingly is an inefficient transmitter of at least some vibrations in the audible range. The resilient member 36 includes an enlargement 38 on the upper end thereof and an external groove 40 on the lower end thereof for purposes more fully apparent hereinafter. The member 36 may also include an auxiliary inlet 42 for connection to a dishwasher drain to provide a drainv path for dirty water from the dishwasher.

Also comprising part of the disposer installation of this invention is means 44 suspending the disposer housing 20 from the sink l2. The suspending means 44 incorporates a support structure 46 connected to the sink l2. The support structure 46 may by of any suitable type but is conveniently illustrated as being of the type described in application Ser. No. 305,090, assigned to the assignee of this invention, to which reference is made for a more complete description thereof. Briefly, the support structure 46 comprises an annular support ring 48 having an offset flange 50 cooperating with a wire 52 disposed in an indentation 54 in the drain opening conduit 14. A plurality of machine screws 56 are threaded through the ring 48 for engagement with an annular plate S8 bearing against a washer 60 to provide a water-tight joint between the conduit 14 and the sink l2. lt will be apparent that threadably advancing the screws 5,6 acts to bind the plate S8 against the washer 60 and to bind the flange 50 against the wire 52.

The support structure 46 also comprises a mounting ring 62 forming at one end a hook 64 for receipt in a slot 66 provided by the support ring 48. At a location on the ring 62 substantially diametrically opposed to the hook 64 is a radially extending portion 68 terminating in a vertical portion 70. Extending through an opening (not shown) in the vertical portion 70 is a locking finger 72 which is insertable into a slot 74 provided by the support ring 48. As will be apparent from the aforementioned application, movement of the locking finger 72 to the right in FlG. l frees the mounting ring 62 for pivotal movement as allowed by cooperation of the hook 64 and slot 66 to release a clamping ring 76 from binding engagement with the upper end of the resilient member'36. Similarly, pivotal movement of the mounting ring 62 in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. l places the clamping ring 76 in bearing engagement with the upper end of the member 36 to provide a water-tight connection with the conduit 14. Movement of the locking finger 72 to the left in FIG. l into engagement with the slot 74 latches the mounting ring 62 in securing position.

The suspending means 44 also comprises a clamp 78 for securing the lower end of the resilient member 36 to the upper housingsection 24. The clamp 78 conveniently comprises a circumferential band 80 residing in the circumferential groove 40 provided by the resilient member 36 (FIG. 2). The circumferential band 80 includes a pair of abutting ears 82 which may be joined by a fastener 84 in a conventional manner. The uppermost end of the housing section 24 may comprise a circumferential bulge 86 to facilitate binding of the annular resilient member 36 to the section 24.

Providing an important part of the suspending means 44 are a plurality of support elements 88 which extend between the upper and'lower clamping elements 76,

80. The support elements 88 comprise an elongate metallic spring or strap 90 having a curved upper end 92 for overlying the clamping ring 76and a hooked lower end 94 for underlying the circumferential band 80. The strap 90 provides an arcuate or bent portion 96 providing an obtuse angle between the adjacent strap sections. Although any desired number of the support elements 88 may be provided, there are conveniently three symetrically disposed support elements 88.

The support elements 88 are designed to substantially wholly bear the weight of the housing 20. To this end, the relaxed length of the support elements 88 is insufficient to span the distance between the clamping ring 76 and the groove 40 as suggested in FIG. 2. In order to install the elements 88 to support the housing 20, the straps 90 must be lengthened as is allowed by the arcuatev or bent portion 96. Conveniently, the clamp 78 is first installed to bind the annular element 36 against the upper housing section 24 as shown in FIG. 1.A Pivotal movement of the mounting ring 62 as suggested by the arrow in FIG. 1 elonga'tes the support elements 88 thereby transferring the load of the housing to the mounting ring 62 through the support elements 88. Accordingly, the annular member 36 assumes a relaxed, untensioned configuration.

It will be appreciated that the disposer installation of this invention affords a considerable measure of noise attenuation. It is evident that the annular resilient member 36 is an inefficient transmitter of vibration in the audible range. All sound transmission paths from the housing section 24 to the sink 12 pass at least across the thickness of the resilient member 36 thereby reducing noise from disposer operation.

Since the weight of the housing 20 is substantially wholly supported by the straps 90, the annular resilient element 36 is unstressed. There appears to be an improvement in the longevity of the annular member 36.

Another advantage provided by this invention is apparent during installation of the disposer 18. It is necessary to position the dishwasher inlet 42 and the disposer outlet 34 in alignment with plumbing fixtures beneath the sink 12. In practice, the disposer 18 is temporarily secured in position by attachment of the annular member 36 to the mounting ring 62 followed by rotation of the disposer 18 to orient the dishwasher inlet 40 and the disposer outlet 34 in the appropriate directions. In the prior art, the rubber member corresponding to the annular member 36 must be rotated while overcoming rubber-to-metal friction on both the inner and outer surfaces thereof. In the device of this invention, the clamping action of the mounting ring 62 is relaxed by manipulation of the locking finger 72 and thevertical portion followed by rotation of the disposer 18. Since the metal straps reside between the clamping ring 76 and the annular member 36, rotation of the disposer 18 requires that the metal-to-metal friction between the strap 90 and the clamping ring 76 as well as the rubber-to-metal friction between the annular member 36 and the conduit 14 must be overcome. Since the metal-to-metal friction between the strap 90 and the clamping ring 76 is substantially less than comparable rubber-to-metal friction, it will be apparent that rotation of the disposer 18 in the device of this invention is substantially easier than the prior art devices.

l claim: 1. A waste disposer for a sink having an opening therethrough, comprising a disposer housing having means therein for comminuting waste material; I

a resilient annular member for providing communication between the opening and the housing; and

means for suspending the housing from the sink including means for securing the upper and lower ends of the member to the sink and the housing respectively;rv and a support element independent of the resilient annular member, extending between the upper and lower securing means for substantially wholly bearing the weight of the housing, said upper securing means further including a clamp for engaging said support element and for biasing the support element to the upper end of said resilient member against the sink.

2. The waste disposer of claim 1 wherein the support element is in load bearing connection with the upper end and lower securing means at locations spaced apart a predetermined distance, the support element comprising a metallic spring member having an unsupported relaxed shortened configuration spanning less than the predetermined distance and a load supporting stressed elongate configuration spanning the distance between the locations.

3. The waste disposer of claim 2 wherein the support element comprises an elongate strap having portions intermediate the ends thereof defining therebetween an obtuse angle.

4. The waste disposer of claim 2 further comprising at least one additional support element.

5. The waste disposer of claim l wherein the clamp comprises means for binding the resilient member to the sink.

6. The waste disposer of claim l wherein the lower securing means comprises another clamp engaging the support element and biasing the support element to the lower end of the resilient member against the housing.

7. The waste disposer of claim 6 wherein the clamps comprise releasable connections for rotating the disposer housing and the resilient member about a generally vertical axis relative to the sink. 

1. A waste disposer for a sink having an opening therethrough, comprising a disposer housing having means therein for comminuting waste material; a resilient annular member for providing communication between the opening and the housing; and means for suspending the housing from the sink including means for securing the upper and lower ends of the member to the sink and the housing respectively; and a support element independent of the resilient annular member, extending between the upper and lower securing means for substantially wholly bearing the weight of the housing, said upper securing means further including a clamp for engaging said support element and for biasing the support element to the upper end of said resilient member against the sink.
 2. The waste disposer of claim 1 wherein the support element is in load bearing connection with the upper end and lower securing means at locations spaced apart a predetermined distance, the support element comprising a metallic spring member having an unsupported relaxed shortened configuration spanning less than the predetermined distance and a load supporting stressed elongate configuration spanning the distance between the locations.
 3. The waste disposer of claim 2 wherein the support element comprises an elongate strap having portions intermediate the ends thereof defining therebetween an obtuse angle.
 4. The waste disposer of claim 2 further comprising at least one additional support element.
 5. The waste disposer of claim 1 wherein the clamp comprises means for binding the resilient member to the sink.
 6. The waste disposer of claim 1 wherein the lower securing means comprises another clamp engaging the support element and biasing the support element to the lower end of the resilient member against the housing.
 7. The waste disposer of claim 6 wherein the clamps comprise releasable connections for rotating the disposer housing and the resilient member about a generally vertical axis relative to the sink. 